Ruined: A Dark Romance

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Ruined: A Dark Romance Page 39

by B. B. Hamel


  5

  Sadie

  The next morning, I had a small hangover but at least I was on time to work. I got into my cubicle and sat down, surveying my little domain as I unpacked my belongings.

  I placed the mafia file on the desk and stared at it. I leafed through it again when I got home from the bar and again I found myself getting sucked into it. I wanted to help, wanted to get those awful guys, but I didn’t know if I should.

  Actually, I knew I shouldn’t. I knew I should stay out of it and take some easier cases where there was no real threat to my life. Truthfully, I wanted to get involved because I loved the rush of winning a case like that. I knew it would be dangerous, but it would also be incredible for my career.

  Not many ADAs got to put away real mafia guys. That sort of publicity was almost always reserved for the top DAs in whatever county was prosecuting, or whoever the top dog was. Meanwhile, I was being given this golden opportunity.

  That should have told me something right there. That my boss didn’t want to touch the case should have told me everything I needed to know about it. I was ignoring that fact, though. I was choosing not to look too deeply into that fact, because if I did, I knew I’d run screaming in the other direction.

  “Sadie.”

  I looked up. Rick was standing at the divider. “Good morning,” I said.

  “Come with me.”

  He turned and left. I got up quickly and caught up to him. We walked briskly together down the hall and back into his office.

  He shut the door and walked around his desk, gesturing for me to sit. Hesitant, I sat down in front of his desk.

  “Something came through last night,” he said finally, pulling out a file. “I thought you might like to see it.”

  He handed me the folder. I knew I shouldn’t take it, but instead I opened it right away.

  The man’s name was Evgeni Morov. He was a mobster with the Petrov Family, the same guys that were in my dossier back at my desk. Evgeni looked like a middle of the road kind of guy; not a big boss, but not a small fish, either. Apparently, he ran a bunch of drug dealers down in the south corner of the city, mostly meth and crack but some prescription pills, too.

  “Why am I looking at this guy?” I asked.

  “We picked him up last night.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “He tried to sell to an undercover cop.”

  “You’re kidding me?”

  He laughed. “I’m not. I don’t know why he did it. He decided to make some extra cash on the side, I’d bet.”

  “How much did the cops get?”

  “A lot. All of it on video. It’s a slam dunk case.”

  I laughed. “You’re not kidding. This is huge.”

  “I want you to prosecute.”

  I cocked my head, surprised. “Me? Why?”

  “I want you to prosecute all of these mafia bastards,” he said. “This is an easy one.”

  “I don’t know, Rick. I’m not sure I want to take this on. I don’t even have an apartment.”

  “We can help you find one. In the meantime, forget about your dire living situation by drowning yourself in work.”

  I sighed. I had to admit, I was really tempted. I thumbed through Evgeni’s rap sheet, which listed a couple counts of aggravated assault, a couple counts of intent to sell, and one account of grand theft auto. Each time, the charges were mysteriously dropped.

  I knew what that meant. Either someone got bribed big time, or they made some threats that were impossible to ignore.

  This was going to be dangerous, even if it was an easy case. If I took it, I knew I was going down a path that I could never get off of.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

  “Great,” Rick said. “Take that file. We’ll send you down whatever else you need as soon as possible. I’d also get down to the station when you can.”

  “Okay.” I stood. “Thanks for this.”

  “No, thank you. It’s going to be tough, but I know you can do it.”

  I nodded, turned, and quickly left his office.

  I knew I was making the wrong choice, but I couldn’t stop myself. This case was the sort of thing that could possibly make a career. Plus, I became an ADA for this sort of thing. I wanted to put bad guys behind bars, and Evgeni was absolutely a bad guy.

  As soon as I got back to my desk, my phone started to vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the number. I didn’t recognize it, but for some reason I decided to answer it anyway.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, beautiful.”

  I paused. “Who is this?”

  “It’s Gage.”

  That surprised me. “Gage. It’s pretty early in the morning.”

  “Is it?” He laughed. “Shit, you’re right. Sorry, I had a crazy night with work. I didn’t realize what time it was.”

  “Everything okay?”

  “More than okay. I just wanted to see if you’d like to accompany me out tonight.”

  I looked around and bit my lip. “I don’t know. I have a lot of work.”

  “I won’t keep you late, then. Come on. What else do you have to do? Come meet some people, spend a little time out. You’re basically new in town, you know.”

  He did have a point. I needed to make some new friends, and maybe going out with Gage would help me do that.

  Who was I kidding, that’s not why I wanted to do. I wanted to be close to Gage again. There was no other reason to accept his strange invitation. What kind of collection job kept someone out all night long like this?

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m staying at the Holiday Inn, room 337.”

  “I’ll meet you in the lobby at eight. Wear something to impress me.”

  “Gage—“ I want to tell him off, but he had already hung up.

  That arrogant bastard. Who did he think he was telling me what to wear? The man was so frustrating, just the way that I remembered him. And yet the more frustrated I got with him, the more I wanted to be around him. He was an impossible conundrum.

  I turned back to my desk, took a deep breath, and dove into work. I had a long day ahead of me, including going down to the police station to find out more about this Evgeni guy.

  But at least now I had something to look forward to.

  I was nervous as I looked at myself in the mirror. I hadn’t been on a date in months, although I wasn’t even sure that this was a date. I wore a tight black dress with matching heels, and I knew that my outfit screamed “take me home.” I couldn’t really help myself, though.

  I had no clue where we were going. I checked the time on my phone and quickly grabbed my little clutch. I slipped my phone in, grabbed my keys and my cards, and then headed out. I stuffed everything into the bag as I rode the elevator down to the main lobby.

  I walked across the cheap marble floor listening to my heels clack on the stone. I saw him sitting at the little bar they had in the corner, sipping a drink.

  “Hey, stranger,” I said, sidling up next to him.

  He smirked at me. Gage wore a perfectly fitting black dress shirt and dark wash jeans that looked like they were made for him. His watch was big and expensive-looking, and I had to admit that he cleaned up really, really well.

  “You look good,” he said. “I knew you’d go all-out for me.”

  “I didn’t go all-out,” I said. “I just didn’t know what we were doing, so I’m prepared.”

  “Well, it’s perfect.”

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “To Ashertown’s most exclusive club.”

  “Ashertown has a club?”

  “It does,” he said, smiling. “It’s the only one in town.”

  “Sounds very exclusive.”

  “Oh, it is,” he said, laughing. “I assure you, only the best of the best in this town go there.”

  “Okay then. You have me for the night.”

  “I’m sure that I do.”

  I blushed at the implication
underneath that statement. He finished off his drink and stood, offering me his arm. I took it, surprised that he could be such a gentleman.

  “I can’t wait to see what you look like sweating and dancing against me,” he said softly as he led me outside.

  So much for being a gentleman. “We’ll see about that.”

  “Why else go out with an ex-boyfriend looking like that?”

  “Because you offered and I don’t know anybody else in town.”

  “That’s not a bad reason. But I suspect there’s a lot more to it.”

  “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”

  “I guess so.” He smirked at me and we stopped in front of a black car. “Here we are.”

  “Not the old convertible?”

  “I upgraded a little bit.”

  “Darn. I really hoped you still had that thing.”

  “Who says I don’t?” He opened the passenger side door for me and I got in. He walked around to the other side, got behind the wheel, and fired up the engine.

  “You’re kidding me.”

  “I’m not kidding.” He pulled into traffic, driving fast. “It’s sitting in my garage gathering dust.”

  “Does it still run?”

  He shrugged. “Probably not. I could fix it if I wanted to, but it’s not worth the trouble.”

  “Not worth the trouble?” I was shocked. “You loved that car. I loved that car!”

  “It’s a good car,” he agreed. “Had some good times in it.”

  “When did you stop driving it?”

  He didn’t answer right away. “Not long after you left.”

  That surprised me. I assumed he drove it for years after I was gone. Why would he retire a car like that when he was so young?

  “Oh, well, I’m back now. Maybe it’s time to fix it.”

  He laughed. “Maybe. Do you think you’re worth the trouble?”

  “It’s not about me, Gage. It’s about the car.”

  He gave me a knowing smile. “Of course it is. I think you just want me to fuck you rough in the back seat again, make you come like I used to.”

  “That’s not it.”

  “Sure it is. You want to suck my cock as we drive with the top down. You want everyone to see you with your lips wrapped around me, choking on my thick shaft.”

  “That’s not it at all. It’s just a cool car.”

  “Of course.”

  I bit my lip and looked out the window. I was intensely aware of my heart beating fast and the wetness gathering between my legs. I had to look away from him or else risk diving across the car and kissing him hard while he drove, which was crazy. I wasn’t going out with him for that reason. I just needed a friend.

  At least I had to keep telling myself that. Friends didn’t usually talk about you sucking their cock, and I wasn’t supposed to like that sort of thing coming from someone that’s just my friend.

  Gage could get away with it. Gage could get away with anything.

  We pulled up out front of a large industrial-looking building. I didn’t remember it from my time in Ashertown, but we weren’t in the best part of town. I didn’t spend a lot of time looking for clubs back when I was just sixteen.

  “Here we go,” he said. He pulled the car up out front and a valet kid stepped forward. I climbed out while Gage gave the kid his keys and slipped him some money. “Careful,” he told the kid, and then we walked toward the front door together.

  I was shocked to see a line out front. This was Ashertown, not New York, and yet it looked like every young person within a fifty-mile radius was lined up there, and it wasn’t even a weekend.

  Gage skipped the line. We walked together right up to the bouncer, who perked up as Gage approached.

  “’Sup, Tommy,” Gage said to him.

  “Hey man.” He unhooked the rope. “How’s it going?”

  “Same as always.” The two men shook hands. I noticed Gage slipped the bouncer another bill, though I couldn’t see how much it was.

  “Enjoy yourself in there,” Tommy the bouncer said. I smiled at him as we passed and went in through the front door.

  Heavy music blasted through my chest as we stepped into the dimly lit club. Ahead, there was a large bar, with another bar at the far end of the room. The place was packed, absolutely mobbed, and the dance floor was going crazy. There was a DJ at the far end, and more couches and seating scattered all over.

  Gage took my hand and led me into the mob. I kept up, marveling at the place. It was modern and nice, an expensive-looking club with attractive waitresses and bartenders spinning bottles in their hands. I couldn’t believe a place like this existed in Ashertown. It was basically impossible to believe that an amazing club was somehow flourishing in a nowhere town like Ashertown, but there it was, packed and exciting.

  Suddenly, a cute waitress approached. She said something to Gage, speaking into his ear. He smiled and nodded. “The usual spot,” he yelled over the music.

  We followed her through the crowd and to an empty booth in the back corner. It was a little quieter as we slipped in and she shut the rope behind us. Gage ordered drinks and the waitress disappeared.

  “I can’t believe this place,” I said to him.

  “I know, right? A friend of mine opened it.”

  “That explains how you can walk right in here like that.”

  “Well, that and a few well-placed bribes.”

  I laughed. “I noticed.”

  “I wasn’t trying to hide it.”

  “Trying to show off for me?”

  He shrugged. “Does that sort of thing impress you?”

  “No. It doesn’t.”

  “Good. I like that you’re not easily impressed.”

  “Takes more than some flash to win me over.”

  “Oh, I know. I remember very well.”

  “We were kids back then, you know. We were different.”

  He shrugged. “Not so different. But you’re definitely not a kid anymore.”

  I blushed, feeling so out of my league. I’d never been in a club like this before, let alone sitting in a private booth. The waitress returned with our drinks a minute later and Gage slipped her some cash. He sipped his whisky and I sipped my gin and tonic, happy to have it.

  The alcohol loosened me up a little bit. I didn’t want to get drunk, since I had work in the morning, but I also knew that I needed a little something to make me feel more comfortable. I took another sip and looked at Gage.

  He smirked at me and knocked his drink back. He leaned in toward me, and for a second I thought he was trying to kiss me.

  I didn’t move. I thought I should pull away, but I stayed right there, waiting for his lips.

  Instead, his moved toward my ear. “What do you think?”

  “It’s nice,” I said.

  “Nice? Not the word I’d use.”

  “What’s the word you’d use?”

  He thought for a second then leaned toward me again. “Dirty.”

  “Dirty? It looks really clean in here.”

  “That’s not the kind of dirty I mean.”

  I laughed, shaking my head. He was unbelievable. “Is that all you think about?”

  “Maybe,” he said, moving closer. “At least it’s all I think about when around a girl like you.”

  Suddenly, the waitress appeared at the side of our booth. She leaned over and said something to Gage, but he barely seemed to notice her. I noticed that she had a low-cut top and was clearly flirting with him, but that didn’t seem to faze Gage. He ordered two more drinks for us and she went off.

  “It’s not just you,” he said when she was gone. “It’s this place, this atmosphere. Look around us. Is there anywhere else in Ashertown that screams sex like this club?”

  I had to admit, he was right. The whole place was filled to the brim with half-naked people dancing against each other, drinking and having a good time. On the surface it was all good clean club fun, but underneath it all there was the implication
of sex in everything people did. That implication was always there, whether in a bar or in a club, but this place seemed to heighten it all. Sex seemed to be in the air, a charged electricity sparking between people, arcing between bodies.

  “I don’t see it,” I lied to him, not wanting to give in. I didn’t want to play his game and admit that I was feeling the same thing. I could see how dangerous that would be. Admitting that I sensed the charged intensity was basically admitting that I was feeling that way, and it was only make him bolder.

  Although I didn’t know how you could be bolder than Gage. He didn’t hold back in anything, and clearly he wanted me again. He wasn’t trying to hide that fact, and frankly I liked that about him. I was so tired of men that couldn’t say what they wanted or were too nervous to say what they were thinking. Gage had never been that way, and clearly time hadn’t changed that aspect of his personality.

  He made me feel wanted. That was so incredibly important and even rare. Sure, other men said things to me about how they wanted to sleep with me or whatever, but they never made me feel wanted like Gage did. Those men just wanted to fuck me and be done with it, but there was something extra about the way Gage looked at me. He didn’t seem to want to just sleep with me.

  He seemed to want to possess me. That scared me and excited me, and I couldn’t decide which feeling was stronger.

  “Okay. Pretend like you don’t feel it.” He shrugged, not bothered at all. “But I know this place and I know you.”

  “It’s been ten years, Gage. Maybe I’ve changed.”

  “Oh, you have, but you also haven’t. You’ll always be that girl in my car, dripping wet and begging me to pull over so that I can fuck you until you come screaming my name.”

  I shook my head, unable to contain my smile. “I’m not so sure about that.”

  The waitress returned with our drinks. Gage paid her and left her a large tip, all the while keeping his eyes on me. She flashed her biggest smile and leaned forward, clearly trying to show off her ridiculous fake breasts, but he didn’t bother to look up at her. She got the picture pretty quickly and scampered off, but I made a note to keep an eye on that one.

 

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